The present invention relates generally to devices for supporting and suspending items, such as applique (auxiliary) armor panels to an armored vehicle surface. The invention is directed to hollow, light weight, high strength cone devices, more particularly, frusta of cones that are, in addition, inexpensive to produce. They provide a reliable, easy to use suspension and support system for such armor panels.
Over the years, a number of devices have been employed to hang armor on the armored surfaces of military vehicles. An early (1945) example of this is U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,393 to Berg. Berg secures spacers 5 to an armored surface 2. Each spacer includes a boss 6 that extends through an opening provided in an armor plate 3. A headed bolt 9 is threaded into the boss to secure the armor plate to the spacer and thus to the armored surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,889 to Bohne et al shows a solid rubber buffer (spacer) secured at its base to the surface of an armored vehicle by a collar 11 welded to the armored surface. A threaded bushing 7 is cast in the rubber spacer, at its outer end, for securing armor plate to the rubber buffer by a bolt 6 threaded into the bushing.
A similar structure by Bohn et al is shown in West German Patent DE 254214C1. Here, a thick wall tapered bearing 4 is supported in a rubber cone 6. Rubber cone 6 is in turn supported in a thick wall metal cone 5. The base of the bearing is wider than the inner diameter of the distal end of the housing so that the bearing cannot escape the housing if the rubber cone is destroyed.
U.S Pat. No. 4,545,296 to Fedij shows a half spherical steel spacer 26 welded or fused to the back side of an armored tile 12. The tile and spherical spacer are attached to the hull of an armored vehicle by a threaded bolt extending through the spacer and into the vehicle surface. When an incoming shell strikes the tile in an off centered manner the bolt breaks and the tile rotates about the rounded surface of the spacer.
A welded boss 56 similar to that of Berg is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,810 to DeGuvera. A nylon spacer 14 is secured to the welded boss for attaching armor plate to an armored surface.
There are, of course, many types of military vehicles on which applique armor may be mounted, as well as a multitude of other types of structures using spacer support systems. Each application has its peculiar characteristics and operating conditions, such as ballistic loading, vibrations and noises, etc. In providing applique armor for each vehicle type, it is desirable that a system for attaching armor be capable of being easily adapted and adjusted to the particular armor/vehicle system and their dynamic conditions.
Another challenge in designing systems to attach applique armor to a vehicle is to reduce the weight of attaching devices. It is desirable, of course, to reduce vehicle weight, and it can be appreciated that a large number of dense, hard bosses and bushings attached to the outside surface of the vehicle can add a substantial amount of weight to the vehicle. In addition, such bosses and bushings protrude outwardly from the vehicle surface. When they are not being employed to support applique armor they are subject to being snagged and broken off. Then, when it is desired to mount applique armor on the vehicle, the bosses will not be available. These bosses also require additional space in transport and storage of such vehicles, particularly in cramped quarters of a ship's hull, as well as in maneuvering the vehicle amongst trees and other obstacles that may be adjacent the path of vehicle travel.
A further problem with providing applique armor for military vehicles is the difficulty often encountered in the traditional attaching/removing process. What is needed in the art is a simple system for applying and removing applique armor to and from military vehicles, one that can be effected with a minimum of tools, effort and time under field and battle conditions.